THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA. 115 fish of the sea, possessed magic powers, and rewarded him with the lavish liberality which, as a rule, succeeded his accesses of mad passion. The explanation, as narrated to me, was simple enough.

The Pera jeweller was in league with the conjurer, and had supplied him with a watch the exact facsimile of the one recently purchased by the Prince. The duplicate was in his pocket when the original was chucked overboard ; and while unfastening the hook from the fish's mouth, the task of getting the watch inside the fish presented no difficulty whatever. One more ancedote of Ibrahim's relations with Nubar, and I will pass on. It so happened that during his travels in Europe, undertaken, I fancy, chiefly in the pursuit of health, Ibrahim paid a visit to the rich, fertile districts of la Bourgogne. While gazing at the broad expanse of ground, so highly cultivated, so carefully tended, so rich in variety of produce, the Prince burst into tears, and, turning to his companion, said, " It makes me weep to look at all this, and think of what Egypt might be if the soil were only cared for in the same manner." . I should question greatly whether the Prince had even a dim appreciation of the fact that the prosperity of France was due in no small degree to the security and liberty possessed by the French peasant as compared with the Egyptian fellah. His grief, in as far as it was genuine, was due to the reflection, how much richer his country might be if it was administered with more intelligence and energy. To recognize this truth at all is a rare